Amgen quarterly profit tops Street view, 2019 forecast falls short

Reuters

Published Jan 29, 2019 04:06PM ET

Amgen quarterly profit tops Street view, 2019 forecast falls short

By Deena Beasley

(Reuters) - Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN) on Tuesday reported higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit as sales rose and tax expense fell, but competition for older medicines is growing and the drugmaker forecast 2019 earnings below Wall Street estimates.

For the full-year, Amgen projected adjusted earnings of $13.10 to $14.30 per share on revenue of $21.8 billion to $22.9 billion. Wall Street analysts, on average, had forecast $14.61 per share on revenue $22.9 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

The world’s largest biotechnology company posted a net profit of $1.93 billion, or $3.01 per share, compared with a net loss of $4.26 billion, or $5.89 per share, a year ago, when it took a large charge related to changes in U.S. corporate tax laws.

Excluding items, Amgen said it had adjusted earnings for the quarter of $3.42 per share. Analysts, on average, expected $3.27 per share.

Total revenue for the quarter rose 7 percent to $6.23 billion, beating the average analyst estimate of $5.84 billion.

The rise in sales was driven largely by increased demand for medicines such as cancer drug Kyprolis, cholesterol fighter Repatha and osteoporosis treatment Prolia.